Keeping the Faith
by Queen of Sarab
Summary: Following "The Gift", the Watcher's Council is prepared to... dispose... of Faith to activate a new slayer. PLEASE R&R!!! I'm not good at summaries...
1. Default Chapter

_Keeping the Faith_   
_Prologue_   
_by Queen of Sarab___

Author's note: This is just a quick idea. If I get enough good response, I'll continue it and turn it into a full story... so please r & r!!! Oh, yeah, this show doesn't belong to me, yadda yadda yadda, all that good disclaimer stuff... Hope you like it!   
  


Rupert Giles glanced around him tentatively. The smell of overall filth assaulted his nostrils, although his eyes seemed to tell a different story. By all appearances, the prison was sterile, all white and metal, but a noxious mixture of unidentifiable scents wafted from the direction of the cells.   
Death, disease, evil, Giles thought with a sniff. What a place.   
"Giles?" an incredulous voice asked.   
Giles looked towards the voice. Separated from him by heavy glass, the brunette girl stared at him in disbelief, questioning him with her eyes.   
"Hello, Faith," he smiled wearily.   
"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprise still evident on her face.   
The British man pulled off his glasses with a sigh, wiping them on his shirt. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." he said slowly. "About Buffy."   
Faith waited several seconds, then cut in impatiently. "Yeah? What about her?"   
Carefully setting his glasses back on his nose, Giles cleared his throat. "She's, uh," he took a deep breath. "She's dead."   
Faith sat for several moments in silence, shocked to the point of not noticing Giles was fighting back tears. Although she herself had tried to kill her fellow slayer several times, she had always known, deep down, she wouldn't be able to do it if it came down to it. And Angel had honestly shown her the light- turning herself in was a decision she had not yet regretted, although prison life was not something she really loved. She was really trying to change, and it was working.   
"God," she breathed finally. "Giles, I am so sorry."   
"Me, too," he managed, blowing his nose on a cotton handkerchief. "But that's not the only reason I came. As you know," he took a deep breath before continuing, "when Buffy was temporarily killed, Kendra was activated as slayer, and she was succeded by you."   
"Right," Faith nodded.   
"Well, since Buffy has now... passed on, you are the only remaining slayer."   
"You mean a new slayer wasn't activated?"   
"No, you see, one already was- Kendra. You are really the official slayer, Faith."   
"And I'm in jail."   
"Exactly," Giles replied. "Which is why the Watcher's Council wants you dead."   
  



	2. Chapter One

__

_Keeping the Faith_   
_Chapter One_   
_by Queen of Sarab_

"Dead," Faith repeated slowly.   
"Um, yes," Giles affirmed.   
Toying with the sleeve of her orange jumpsuit thoughtfully, Faith sat in silence for several minutes. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked finally. "I mean, after all that Iíve done to you and all."   
"Angel," coughed Giles delicately. "Um, Angel managed to convince us you were honestly attempting to change for the better. Besides..."   
"Not too fond of the Watcher's Council, huh?" Faith grinned. "Don't worry, Giles, I'm with you there." She frowned suddenly. "But what good is you telling me going to do? Seriously. I came here of my own free will, Giles. Are you really sure it wouldn't be better if there weren't a new slayer, someone... well, someone not me? Look," she sighed. "Iíve done a lot of really bad stuff. Plus some. And yes, I'm trying to reform, but how do you know I wouldn't go all psycho on you if I got slaying privileges again?"   
"I don't," Giles said seriously. "But we can't just let them kill you."   
"Sure you can. I would've killed you guys five times over, if I'd had the chance." Faith laughed bitterly.   
Giles smiled sadly. "But you didn't, Faith. And that's the point."   
Chewing her lip thoughtfully, Faith glanced around her at the hellhole she had called home for months. Then, with a look of supreme determination, she fixed her eyes on Giles. "What are you planning to do?"   
"Get you out of here," he answered simply. 

"So, uh, how exactly are we planning on getting Faith out of a maximum security prison?"   
Willow Rosenburg gave her lifelong best friend as annoyed a glance as she could. "Don't be so pessimistic, Xander," she replied. "We have two witches, a nice soul-y vampire, a former vengeance demon, weapons, and, uh," she glanced around at the rest of the assembled people, "a whole lot of pep."   
"Oh, good, we'll cheer our way into the prison," Xander groaned.   
The room fell silent. Cordelia, sensing the uncomfortable silence, finally cut in nervously.   
"I know some cheers," she offered.   
"Dear God, we're doomed," Giles murmured.   
"Wouldn't it be great if there were some kind of spell or something that could help us?" Anya mused.   
Every eye in the room turned towards her.   
"Anya," Willow grinned. "I think you just may be a genius." 


	3. Chapter Two

Technically, I suppose this is chapter 3, but since I named the first chapter prologue, and I'm stubborn, we'll call it chapter 2, 'kay? 

**_Chapter Two_**   
**_by Queen of Sarab_**

_Author's note: _Sorry this took me so long to get out- hope I didn't lose everybody's interest... Um, I'm just writing this as I go, which I'm not used to (I usually write the entire thing before posting) so be patient... I'll try to be better about getting chapters out faster *grin*... please review! I'll love you forever!!! Read and (hopefully) enjoy...   


"They sent _you_ to get me out?"   
Faith looked sceptically at the dark-haired boy through the visitor's screen. "I mean, seriously. They've got witches, vamps and ex-demons and they send you?"   
"I'm touched by your trust in me," Xander replied sarcastically. "Really. But no, as much as I know you'd like me to be your knight in shining armor, I'm just a messenger."   
Sighing with relief, Faith nodded. "Ok. What's the message, messenger?"   
"Well," Xander began. "We don't know if the Watcher's council is here yet, or how they're gonna do it, so we're going as soon as possible. Not sure of the exact time yet, tonight if possible. Willow and Angel will get in- don't ask me how, Angel's good at this stuff- and Willow's got a whole nice string of spells worked out and ready, although I have no idea what the hell any of them are. Anyway, she says you won't recognize them. Someone who seems to be a guard will come and tell you you've got a call, then take you into one of the booths. From there, Willow and Angel say they've got it covered."   
"Okay," Faith nodded. "I'll be ready." 

"Have I mentioned sewers are disgusting yet?" Willow wrinkled her nose as Angel helped her out of the small opening she had just pulled herself through, looking at the dark, dank room around her. "So, where are we now?"   
"In the prison, " Angel replied, surveying the area with his eyes.   
"This is the prison? It's just like the sewer!"   
"It's part of the old wing," explained Angel. "But it connects into the new section in quite a few places- this section is set to be destroyed in just a few days."   
Willow nodded understanding, following Angel through the door and into the decaying hall beyond. They proceeded down the hallway, and into a small, cluttered room that smelled heavily of cleaning agents.   
"Janitor's closet," Angel whispered. "Through there's one of the survellience rooms. You ready?"   
Willow nodded consent. "I'm going to go ahead with the glamour spell," she whispered back.   
She closed her eyes. Mumbling softly in Latin, she reached into one of several pouches hanging off of her belt loops began to sprinkle a greenish powder over both of them. The printed pictures she held tightly in her hand of two regular prison guards, at this time supposedly off-duty, were tossed into the air as she mumbled the last word. Willow's eyes flew open, pupils dilated to cover the majority of the white, and suddenly, with a jolt, she collapsed.   
"Willow!" Angel fell to his knees next to her, automatically checking her vitals. "Willow, are you all right?"   
She appeared to be breathing, and her pulse was fine, Angel noted mentally. But she wasn't waking up. "Willow!"   
The red-haired witch didn't move.   



End file.
